Saturday, 11 October 2014

Yet again, it's been too long since I've done a blog post, but this past month has been crazy. As you can see from the title, I have finally gone to University and moved away from home into student halls!
It's weird to think back to this time last year when I was just starting to apply to university, rushing to get my personal statement done so that I could have any replies from unis on UCAS before Christmas, and now I'm actually at my first choice university. It's quite a funny thinking about how when I was heading to the open day for Southampton University, I had pretty much written it off in my head, pretty sure that I'd get here and hate it, but after sitting through the subject talk in the morning, I realised how wrong I was, and it became my firm favourite uni! Just shows you need to go see the university to get a proper feel for it!
Then, if I think back to this time last month, where I was at home, about a week from moving here and freaking out about it! I moved here on the 20th September, and that has to be the scariest, most emotional day ever- I don't think I've ever been so nervous about anything. In the car journey here I was watching my Dad's sat-nav as it predicted our arrival time, praying for an extra few minutes, or a traffic jam to delay my arrival just a little longer. We arrived on time however, and I was suddenly plunged into the chaos of moving in and sorting out my room, then a few hours later my parents went back home, and I was on my own. It's a very strange feeling realising that you are on your own, in a strange place where you know no one, and it took a good couple of weeks to adjust, but you just have to keep reminding yourself that everyone else around you is going through and feeling the exact same way.

I wasn't overly sure what to do once my parents had gone, I still had stuff to sort out in my room, but I also wanted to try and meet people, but I wasn't sure if anyone was around. I briefly went into the kitchen to take a few more bits through and see if anyone was in there, but found that no one was there, so came back to my room and decided to sort things for an hour or so. As I was sorting out everything in my room I suddenly had a knock at the door, and at the door was two of my housemates who had come to introduce themselves. After a quick chat, they left again and I went back to sorting, and shortly after that I had another knock at the door and the girl from the room next to me was stood at the door wanting to meet someone. We both left our rooms and went to sit in the kitchen and wait for other people to arrive, and honestly, that's the best advice I could give anyone who is moving to uni- the kitchen is the communal space for your house/flat, and eventually everyone will come into the kitchen for food or to put stuff away, so it's a great place to meet people on your first day. I share in a house of 10, and the kitchen has become our social space where we all meet during the day and chat, and it's meant that all of us have become good friends very quickly. Also, once you start your course, you meet more people and widen your circle of friends. Just keep introducing yourself to people, and remember- be yourself! If you go in and pretend to be someone you're not just to fit in then you're going to end up with friends that are nothing like you, or think you're someone you're not.

I've now been at university for 3 weeks, and those weeks have gone SO quickly! It genuinely feels like I've been here for a good few months, and although I'm still meeting people and learning my way around, I feel very settled and happy. I do really miss my family, and it's still hard having not seen my parents or my pets for so long, but not matter how far away you are from your family, they will always only be a phone call away, so just remember that when you leave home for the first time!
I realise not everyone will have the same initial experience as I have when going to university, but I hope that if you've read this post I have managed to ease your worries, or make the move seem a little less daunting. Don't be afraid to ask me questions or talk to me, I'm always happy to reply to messages on here :)